In her charming ‘nanna’s book about footy’, Helen Garner writes with candour, vigilance and insight

By Kevin John Brophy, Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne

There are a number of good reasons you might want to read this little “nanna’s book about footy” from Helen Garner over the summer.

Maybe you are preparing to become a grandparent, or you might already be one of those blessed senior citizens. If you are, you’ll revel in the details and epiphanies of grandparenthood.

It might be that you, like me, just love the way Garner writes, so anything she writes about will be worth reading.

If you are lost and spinning aimlessly in the black hole of a footyless summer, then this quirky literary take on AFL and suburban…

Read complete article

~	Embracing the feral in Kingston, Jamaica's concrete jungle

~	Black Friday sales are on again. To score a genuine bargain, it helps to go in with a plan

~	Australia’s electricity market is getting a big makeover – and these 3 changes will make it future-proof

~	We’re quick to limit kids’ screen time. Parents can also benefit from setting boundaries for themselves

~	Mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise. Here’s how collecting mozzies in your backyard can help science

~	Royal gardens: how queen bees and wasps set our backyards abuzz in readiness for summer

~	Who really was Māui, the demigod portrayed in Moana? And did Disney get him right?

~	Universities should not silence research and speech on Palestine

~	Trump’s tariff threat could shake North American trade relations and upend agri-food trade

~	NZ urgently needs more psychologists – changing an outmoded training model would help